BREAKING: Kevin Hart Steps Down as Oscars Host, Apologizing to the LGBTQ Community for Homophobic Comments

Comedian Kevin Hart will not host the 2019 Academy Awards, he announced late Thursday night.

Over the course of just two days since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Hart would host the next Oscars, a slew of his homophobic tweets and jokes began to go viral — causing round-the-clock criticism of both Hart and the Academy.

In a tweet, Hart said he had decided to step down from the role, apologizing for hurting people in the LGBTQ community and saying that he is “evolving.”

I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscar’s….this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists. I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past.

It doesn’t appear that Hart’s apology is entirely of his own volition. In a video posted to Instagram just about an hour before announcing he was stepping down as Oscars host, Hart confessed that he received a call from the Academy telling him to apologize or face being replaced.

“I chose to pass. I passed on the apology,” said Hart in the video. “Reason why I passed is because I’ve addressed this several times.”